The Little Notebook
by BlackCat-BC
Summary: Shonen Ai Ootori hid his unexplained feeling towards his senpai.He must have kept it for too long for the next thing he knew, it was Hyoutei graduation day.
1. The Little Notebook

The sky outside the window was clear blue and the trees were once again green, as summer approached the garden of Hyoutei Gakuen.

It was several months after the last Kanto Regional match between schools were held. In that year's match, Hyoutei managed to win back a higher position than the previous year, although they still lost to the winner, by one game, with Rikkadai.

On the first round, Hyoutei had decided to send their Shishido Ootori pair who won Rikkaida's Jackal Marui pair by 6-4.

On the second round, Oshitari Mukahi pair lost to Yagyuu Niou pair by 7-5. It was a fifteen minutes tie break, but it ended as soon as Mukahi used up all his stamina.

Single third was between Kabaji and Kirihara; where Hyoutei won by 7-5 with a half an hour tie break. Kabaji's stamina had lasted longer than Rikkaida junior ace's.

Single two was a no game; between Hyoutei's Akutagawa and Rikkaida's Yanagi., when their tie break had insanely went up to more than two hours long, when finally both was exhausted and could not go on with the match.

Atobe had let his guard down on the last second of his tie break match with Rikkadai's buchou—Yukimura Seiichi, who has fully recovered from his illness.

And when an extra game was called, Hiyoshi lost to Sanada by 6-4, which made Rikkaida the winner.

After the year's match, Hyoutei boys have seemed to grown more matured and handsome, according to Jyosei Shonan's sensei, Hanamura, who watched their final, after JS had lost to Hyoutei on the quarter final.

That year, Seigaku had only managed to go up to the semi final against Hyoutei.

Fudomine entered the semi final, but didn't make it to the final against Hyoutei because they lost to Rikkaida.

Rokaku didn't manage to go on with the match because their lack of players, when Saeki got injured before one of the matches.

St. Rudolph had recruited more students, and their team managed to step into the quarter final.

Yamabuki's Taichi was then one of the fix regular members. Not only he was able to play tennis way better than before, he had finally found his own style of playing.

--

The tennis court was usually filled with live at these times, with a great weather; the players seemed to be more motivated.

30-0

Shishido turned around slightly to take a glance at his double partner, Ootori.

"Ii kyu nyu kon!"

40-0

"Arn Ootori's scud serve has improved since the last time he used it in Kanto regional match. Ne, Kabaji?"

"Usu!"

"Game and match to Shishido and Ootori pair! 6 game to 0!"

"Jiro! It's your turn," Oshitari reminded.

"I doubt he's listening, Yuushi," Gakuto rolled his eyes.

ZZzzz.

--

"Today's practice was good one; don't you think so, Shishido senpai?" Ootori asked cheerfully, while packing his things.

"Except for the one time fault you did while you perform your serve," Shishido reminded.

"Ah, that!" Ootori smiled goofily, and stuck out his tongue a little.

--

"Eh?"

"It's ok, Shishido senpai! You can go first. I've forgotten my book in the class," he smiled, "See you tomorrow, Shishido senpai!"

Shishido sighed as the junior left him. "Such a forgetful guy."

--

"Book, book," Ootori mumbled to himself while he peeped into his desk's drawer. "Ah! There you are!"

He smiled while he pulled a thick notebook from between the other books.

"Ah! Eh! Eh!" he exclaimed as the stack of books fell off the drawers and scattered on the floor.

Sighing, he picked them up and arranged them back into his drawer.

When he was finally done, he looked at the notebook on his hand. Its cover was plain blue. Ootori flipped open the first page. On the plain white paper was writing.

_Ootori Choutarou's notebook._

He smiled to himself and sat down on his chair.

Happily, he pulled out a pen from his pencil case and flipped through the written pages and finally settled on an empty page.

_Thursday, June 14th_

_Choutarou here! Today's practice was good. Finally I've mastered scud serve. I am very happy. I owe Shishido senpai for all these. He has been helping me train up._

_We finished today's practice early because Shishido senpai and I had played two games today. The first one was 6-0 and the second one was 6-1._

_Shishido senpai's speed and skill had increased a lot too. During the second game, I've almost let my guard down, because of Jiroh senpai, but luckily, Shishido senpai covered it up for me. Atobe san must have noticed that. _

_Speaking of distraction, Jiroh senpai brought a stray puppy into the practice area. The puppy was adorable, so I had to take a look. Atobe san told him to take the puppy away, but Jiroh senpai refused and during Jiroh senpai's game, he told me to keep an eye on the puppy, as no one else wanted to do so._

_I showed Shishido senpai the puppy, but he didn't want to touch it, though he has a pet dog at home. Maybe Shishido senpai was afraid that the other Hyoutei regulars would laugh at him because it'll be strange to see Shishido senpai play with a puppy._

_I guess I have to go home now. The school prefect caught me in the class._

_See you!_

_Choutarou_

When he was done writing, the silver haired junior closed his notebook and put it into his bag, together with his pencil case, and happily left the empty classroom.

--

"Shishido senpai!"

The blue cap lad looked up to the familiar voice. He saw his double partner ran towards him with packs of food in his arms.

Ootori approached his senpai who was sitting on the grass, under a shady tree, and invited himself to sit next to the senior.

"Here!" Ootori offered Shishido's favorite cheese sandwich.

"Sankyuu," Shishido mumbled and took it.

Ootori un-wrapped his own sandwich and took a generous bite. Seeing his junior ate so happily, Shishido was rather amused, and accidentally let out a soft chuckle.

"Ng?" Ootori looked at his amused senpai with a smiling but confused look.

"Nothing," he replied and took a bite of his own sandwich to muffle his laughter.

With that, Ootori just smiled with his cheeks bulged out, because his mouth was overly filled with food.

--

The soothing music filled the air as Ootori played his violin.

"Not bad," Shishido, who was lying casually on the junior's bed with his hands folded behind his head, said.

"Arigato!" Ootori was smiling sheepishly at his senpai's rare compliment.

"You play piano too, right?"

"Hai!" Ootori replied.

It was a lazy and calm afternoon, and Shishido was spending the weekend in his junior's home. Ootori's father had gone outstation for work, and his mother had followed him; while his older sister was studying abroad. Ootori was left in the house with the cat.

Even though Ootori was already seventeen, to Shishido, he was still his junior. And when he knew that his family had all gone, he decided to accompany him.

Ootori had told him that it was fine for him to be alone at home, but with his sheepish smile, he had failed to convince his senpai.

"Shishido senpai?"

Shishido turned his head to see the junior looking at him. "What, Choutarou?"

Ootori smiled deeply. He liked the way his senpai call his last name. "I think it's almost lunch time. Should we get something to eat?"

"Sure," he replied and pulled himself up from the bed. "Where to?"

"Eh?"

"Hm?" Shishido raised one eyebrow.

Ootori gave a strange laughter, and Shishido gave him a weird look. "Mc Donald is fine?"

"Yes," Ootori Choutarou agreed.

--

They sat across each other with a tray filled with food in front of each of them.

"Itada kimasu!" the silver haired boy exclaimed happily, and began un-wrapping the paper wrapper of his burger.

"Hm," Shishido said. He was already munching on his.

They were eating quietly when suddenly Ootori interrupted.

"Before we decided to come here for lunch, I thought we were going to cook," he smiled sheepishly.

"Cook?"

"Yes. But it was just an idea. Moreover, maybe it'll be a bit troublesome," Ootori laughed.

"Why didn't you say it earlier?"

"Eh?"

"We'll do that tonight then," Shishido said, without looking up from his food.

--

"Hm, what else might we need, senpai?"

"I don't know. Maybe soy sauce?" Shishido was looking at the shelves of food.

They were doing a small shopping for dinner.

"I have soy sauce at home," Ootori said, "Maybe we'll need pepper."

"Ootori," his senpai called.

"Hai?" he smiled.

"We are shopping for dinner. Not for a feast!" the blue cap boy said, pointing at the basket filled with food stuffs.

--

It was six in the evening when the two decided to start cooking. Ootori's kitchen was fairly big; at least it's bigger than Shishido's. The tiles were ceramic white and clean, and everything was in proper order. Looks like Ootori's mom is one organized lady. And she's very beautiful, too.

"What's this, senpai?"

"Don't call me senpai."

"Eh?" Ootori looked at his senior, who was busy taking out things from the shopping bags. Then he stopped and looked at the surprised junior.

"You can call me senpai in school," Shishido said, "Outside, you can just call me by my name."

"Ng," Ootori was a bit reluctant.

"You don't know my name? My name is Ryou," he said, raising one eyebrow.

"Eh? I do know your senpai's name! It's just…" the silver haired boy spoke. He wasn't used to calling his seniors by their names; especially if you're speaking about Hyoutei.

"There you go again, calling me senpai," Shishido rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

After a longer hesitation, finally Ootori beamed into a smile and said, "Hai, Ryou!"

--

"Do we pour the oil first or do we pour water, instead?" Ootori scratched his head.

"Why water?" Shishido stared at Ootori.

"Soup?"

"That," Shishido pointed to the utensil Ootori was holding, "is used for frying."

"Frying?"

Shishido nodded.

After a few seconds, finally Shishido asked, "Do you know how to cook, Choutarou?"

"Eh?"

"Do you know how to cook?" his senior repeated.

"Ng… no…" he smiled guiltily. Shishido had almost fainted.

"Then why did you suggest cooking?" the brown hair lad sounded a bit annoyed.

"Well… I thought it'd be fun to cook out dinner together," Ootori sank his head, feeling guilty.

"Out of the way," Shishido said.

"Ng?"

"How do I do cook with you standing in front of the stove?"

"Eh?" Ootori gave way to his senpai who took the frying pan from his hand and turned on the stove.

"I can only cook simple stuffs. Don't complain. Now get me the salt and eggs!" Shishido said, as he poured a small amount of oil into the pan.

"Hai!" Ootori beamed into a smile.

--

_Saturday, June 16th_

_Choutarou desu! It was a fun day! Shishido senpai is staying over for the weekend! He is asleep now, though._

_We spent the morning playing and hanging out around the house. He even complimented my violin skill! I was so happy._

_In the afternoon, after lunch at McDonald, we went for a small shopping for our dinner. _

_I didn't know how to cook but I was hoping that it'd be a fun experience to try to cook together. And it was, although Shishido senpai did most of the cooking, and I was only helping him on the minor things._

_Even though the meal was fairly simple, consisting of rice, omelet, vegetable and soup, it was delicious! I didn't know that Shishido senpai could cook pretty well._

_Also, Shishido senpai asked me to call him by his last name. I still find it a bit strange to do so. But it was a great feeling calling him Ryou, because it made me feel that we were closer._

_I will get to bed now. It's getting pretty late! Oyasumi!_

_Choutarou_

Ootori closed his blue notebook and slipped it into his drawer. He switched off the desk lamp and walked towards his bed. His bed was single size, but slightly bigger than the 'normal' single size.

Carefully, as not to awake his senpai, he slipped into the bed and lay comfortably beside his sleeping senior.

For a minute, he found himself staring at the sleeping boy.

Shishido was sleeping facing the ceiling, with his left arm on top of his head, and his right on his abdomen.

Shishido Ryou has a messy brown hair, pointed nose, and strong and clear jaw line. He has a handsome feature, stern but charming. His violet eyes and powerful gaze was what melted the Hyoutei girls. It was rumored that many girls from other schools adored him after seeing him appear in the court for formal matches with their school tennis boys.

Yes, Shishido Ryou is charming. Even a guy can fall for him.

Ootori smiled to himself and whispered a soft "Oyasumi" and he closed his eyes and dozed off into a peaceful sleep.

--

Without realizing, it was time for the seniors to graduate from Hyoutei.

When the ceremony in the hall was going on; when the principal was giving a lecture in front of the hundred of Hyoutei graduates; Ootori Choutarou was walking around the tennis court.

The trees were filled with pink cherry blossom and the air was cool and crisp. Because most seniors were in the hall, the field and park were rather deserted.

Alone, and thinking, Ootori walked and stopped in front of the door of the tennis court that he and the other regular members have always used.

_Everyone will graduate and leave. That left with me and Kabaji._

The thought turned the tip of Ootori's tongue sour, and his chest heavy and painful. There were certain things—and certain people that he didn't want to say goodbye to.

Quietly, on one side of the court, Ootori cried to himself.

--

"Where's Choutarou?"

"Ootori-senpai? I saw him in the court," said a freshman.

"Ah," Shishido replied, and then he stopped and turned and looked at the junior, "Arigato!"

The freshman was stunned for a moment, watching the back of his senior as he left him dumbfounded. _Had he just thanked me?_

--

"Choutarou!"

"Shishido senpai?" Ootori was a little surprised that the ceremony had ended earlier than he had expected.

"What're you doing here?" his senior frowned.

"Nothing," he smiled, "Shishido senpai looked kakkoi with the graduation suit."

"Ah? Sankyu," the senpai said; feeling a little embarrassed.

"And is the rest out yet? I meant Atobe san and the other Hyoutei regulars?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But they're probably busy with their fans. Especially Atobe," Shishido rolled his eyes.

Ootori laughed. "Then what is senpai doing here?"

"Me? I was looking for you!" he said, "And I'm the one who's supposed to ask YOU, what YOU are doing here!"

Again, Ootori laughed a little.

"Oh yeah, Atobe is going to hold some dinner for the Hyoutei regulars at his villa tonight," Shishido informed.

Ootori nodded.

"Shishido! Choutarou! What're you two doing there? Look!! I've graduated!!!" Jiroh exclaimed, as he ran towards the two, and tripped on his black graduation suit.

"Jiroh senpai!!" Ootori approached him to help him up.

"He never changes," Shishido sighed.

--

"Lets' cheers for our graduation! For our juniors, Kabaji and Ootori! For our Hyoutei tennis team!" Atobe said, as he raised his glass high.

Everyone raised their glasses high too.

"And for our sensei! Sakaki sensei!" Atobe said and looked at his coach.

And they exclaimed a loud "kanpei" before drinking off their wine.

When the dinner was over, the eight Hyoutei regulars and their coach hang around and chatted.

They spoke of the days when they started off, the days of tough training, the competition, the other schools, their rivals, and they kept talking when suddenly, Mukahi burst out crying.

Oshitari, who sat next to him, laughed and patted him on the back. The others were laughing, when suddenly Jiroh said, "Look! Kabaji is crying!"

And he was right. As silent as he usually is, he let the tears drop freely.

"Kabaji, don't cry," Atobe said. Normally, Kabaji would reply an "usu" and he would follow whatever command Atobe had given him. But this time, he didn't say a word—and he kept crying quietly.

"Arn Kabaji is being is such a sweet heart!" Atobe smirked, as he stood up, "Please excuse me for a minute."

Even though it's a farewell night, the oresama never wanted the others to see his tears.

When Atobe left, the room went quiet. Even Sakaki couldn't help but to show a bit of emotion.

"Senpai, ganbatte!" Choutarou said happily; but stammering—holding his tears, "It was a great memory being with everyone and plays tennis together!"

The rest bowed their head low. They're not used to this type of sentimental things, and even though they knew that the rest were probably crying, they still felt more comfortable hiding their tears.

"I love you guys!" Jiroh laughed—with tears at the end of his smiley eyes.

From behind the wall, and was listening all along, Atobe appeared and said, "All right Hyoutei!"

The room remained silent, and the heads were still low.

"Thank you," Atobe bowed in front of the seven regular members, and the coach.

At that point, no one cared about their dignity; everyone was crying loudly. Even the captain, Keigo Atobe, let droplets of tears hit the floor.

--

_Friday, February 8th_

_Choutarou again! It's Hyoutei graduation day today. I can't believe it happens so fast. It felt like I've just entered the Hyoutei tennis club yesterday. Everything happened too quickly. And there's so much unforgettable memory._

_And there're so much thing that I wanted to say to the senpai, but I was out of words. I was too over-helmed by emotions, and I ended up crying, instead of thanking and wishing them good luck._

_I didn't believe that we actually cried together. For so long, I thought that the people in the regulars were cold, but today, I understood everything. We do share a certain bond of friendship together, even if they're unspoken. Somehow, three years of working together as a team has made us close. _

_But I have to understand that for every meeting, there'll be a goodbye, eventually._

_And the sweet memories._

_Choutarou_

Just when he finished writing, he received a text message in his mobile phone.

A text message from Shishido.

**I am in the park nearby your home. Can we talk for a minute?**

Ootori immediately got up and pulled a jacket over his pajamas, and ran down the stairs and asked for a quick permission from his parents to see his senpai.

He dashed to the park, which was about fifty meters from his house.

On the bench, across a set of sew saw, Shishido was sitting, with his favorite blue cap over his head. When he saw the junior came, he stood up and smirked, and gave him his typical "Yo!" greeting.

"Shi…Shishido sen…"

"Ryou," he corrected.

"R… Ryou! What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, I must have made you rush," he said.

"No, no I wasn't rushing. I was…" he stopped when he saw why Shishido said so. His senior was looking at his jacket and pajama trousers, and bedroom slippers.

Shishido laughed a little. That was a rare laugh from Shishido.

The brown hair senpai pulled off his favorite cap and placed it over Ootori's silver hair.

"Choutarou."

"Ng?"

"Thank you very much," Shishido bowed in front of him.

"Eh! Ah! Shishi… I meant Ryou!"

All of sudden, Shishido hugged his tall junior, and patted his back hard. "Ganbatte!"

Ootori was lost for a moment, but the next second, he found himself hugging his senpai back, and crying.

And they cried together, without speaking a word. There's no need for words.

--

When Shishido had to go back home, Ootori offered him to stay over.

After a little hesitation, finally the senpai agreed.

"I'd still be in Tokyo anyway, so we can meet up during weekends," Shishido said as he was lying beside Ootori, on his cozy bed.

"Wouldn't you be very busy?"

"Maybe, but it's not like I'd be THAT busy that I can't meet you," Shishido said as the matter of fact. 

Ootori laughed.

"Go to sleep! We'll go to the amusement park tomorrow," the brown hair lad said.

"Eh?"

"Yes, but we're going to my house first! I need to change!"

Ootori laughed again.

After several minutes, Shishido was the first to doze off.

Watching his senpai closely, Choutarou smiled to himself. He wished he could explain and tells Shishido how much he's going to be missed; how much it hurt for him to say goodbye to his double partner.

For now, it was difficult for him to explain his complex feeling for his senior, but Choutarou chose to keep believing.

And who knows that he will get that chance one day?

Even if the day never comes, it can always remain in his heart as the sweetest memory of his life.

An unforgettable one.

(Author's note: If you find you like it, I may do a continuation to The Little Notebook)


	2. The Days Without You

When all of the _senpais_ had graduated from Hyoutei Gakuen, Ootori Choutarou became the new captain of the tennis club, with Kabaji Munehiro as his vice-captain.

While all these while the members stood under Atobe's pride and ego, the new captain gave a complete new atmosphere. In a way it was better because the players got better break times, and nicer training environment to focus on their games. But the bad thing was; they sometimes treated Ootori like any other members.

Choosing regulars was not an easy job. Ootori realized it when Sakaki-sensei handed him full responsibility to select new regulars to replace old ones.

Some players were tough on court, but they have severe problem with their attitude. Some others were barely useful, but they were friendly with Ootori.

"You may have a week to decide," Sakaki had said.

In the evening, back in his cozy room, Ootori found himself scanning through the name lists of the candidates and their attitude records.

"Yamazaki Hide, 15, play style is counter-attack, and very skillful. Was once a representative from Osaka. A strong single player, usually plays for single1. Had once played doubles and defeated Seigaku's Golden Pair," Ootori read to himself, "but has beaten up several players who won him."

Ootori sighed. He did not want to imagine one of his players beating up rival player on court.

At times like those, he wished that he was a junior, and not a captain.

And he wished, someone was there.

His eyes moved to a photo frame on his desk. Inside was a photo of him with his dearest senpai, Shishido Ryou.

_I wonder how Shishido-san is doing._

For a moment, Ootori's mind was filled with all the memories he had with his senior—from their first meeting, until Shishido's graduation day. Five years felt like a night's dream.

Ootori recalled the first day when he joined Hyoutei Gakuen as a freshman…

"30 more laps around the court!" commanded the captain.

Ootori took a peek from his ball-picking task to see a long-haired boy of his senior ran around the court. He was about 170 cm in height, or slightly taller, with dark brown hair tied into a pony tail. His skin and face were marked with little scratches and bruises as if he has been under great training.

"What are you staring at, junior?"

Ootori was startled and took off his glance from the running senior, and his eyes immediately met with another senior's.

Although the red-head was his senior, he was at least a head shorter than first-year Ootori.

"So… Sorry, Mukahi-senpai," he said, and went back to his ball-picking task.

"What is it, Gakuto?" came another senpai, who spoke with Kansai slang.

"Nah, nothing. Are you done with your practice, Yuushi?"

"Yes. Shishido is going for another tough training today," Oshitari Yuushi spoke in a low, husky voice which melted Hyoutei girls' hearts.

"Yeah, he's been crazy for the past few weeks, trying to get into the regulars," Mukahi said, as he crossed his hand behind his head.

_Shishido?_

Ootori couldn't help but to accidentally eavesdropping their conversation. When the two seniors left, he stole another quick glance at the guy named Shishido.

--

_Wednesday, April 25__th_

_Choutarou here! It's been two weeks since I joined Hyoutei Gakuen. Did I mention that I signed up for the tennis club? I did._

_What we freshmen do besides learning how to hold racket properly and practice swinging, is, we pick up balls on the court._

_Hyoutei is a good school, with advanced facilities, but I find that most students here are rather arrogant. And bullies are everywhere._

_Oh! Today I saw a senior who practices really hard to get into the regular. From what I heard, his name is Shishido._

Ootori stopped writing and the image of the long-haired senpai flashed through his head.

The next day during afternoon practice, Ootori immediately spotted Shishido. He was walking towards a court with a tennis racket in his hand. Shishido had a match with another senpai, whom Ootori knew as Akutagawa.

Akutagawa was probably the friendliest and the first senpai to introduce himself to Ootori. He even asked Ootori to call him by his first name, Jiroh. Most of the time, Jiroh was sleeping, but when it was his turn to play, he got very enthusiastic.

When the match was going on, Ootori couldn't help but to stare in amazement. Jiroh was playing his game lightly while Shishido was fully tensed.

In the end, Shishido lost to Jiroh by 6-4, and the captain dismissed the practice.

It was late afternoon, after everyone has left, when Ootori walked past the deserted tennis court in the direction of the school gate. He stopped when he heard the sound of tennis ball bouncing against a hard surface.

Quietly, he walked towards the direction, and he hid behind a wall.

_Shishido?_

Ootori was rather surprised to see the senpai hitting a ball to the wall, practicing his tennis alone. For a long moment, the kouhai just stood there, watching carefully. And when Shishido was done with the practice, Ootori immediately left the place unnoticed.

Since then, Ootori has been observing the senpai's afternoon practice secretly.

--

_Monday, May 15__th_

_It's been almost a month since I began observing Shishido's practices. I think Shishido is a great person. He is really determined. I'm sure he will make it to the regular. _

_As for me, I have low hope even in getting into the pre-regulars. For now, I just hope that I will be able to hit my first ball properly._

_Choutarou_

--

Shishido was one person who really didn't know when to quit. That afternoon, he proposed a match to show the captain and other regulars if he was suitable for the regular pose.

Even though Shishido looked like he has exerted all his strength, he still lost to Hiyoshi by 7-5. Without another consideration, the captain left the court.

"At this rate, he will never make it to the regular. I think pre-regular suits him better," Mukahi said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's cruel," Oshitari said; obviously being sarcastic.

Ootori couldn't content the anger which suddenly erupted inside him. _Didn't those people know how much training Shishido has gone through?_

"Excuse me, senpai, but I think those words are inappropriate!" Ootori blurted.

Oshitari and Mukahi looked at Ootori almost instantly.

"You have no idea how much Shishido-san practices everyday! You…" Ootori went on, before he was interrupted.

"Stop that," Shishido said.

"But…!"

"Shut up! Don't talk like you know everything!" Shishido shot him a fierce and angry glare.

Ootori was taken aback. He was trying to help him, but all he got was a cold respond.

"This kid is just making a fool of himself," Mukahi sneered.

"Let's get going. The captain wants to see us," Oshitari said as he left.

Shishido went off without even glancing at the startled kouhai.

--

_Tuesday, May 16__th_

_I was shocked that Shishido had reacted that way. I had wanted to help him. I had wanted to tell the world that Shishido had been practicing very hard, and he is very serious about tennis. I don't understand why he was all mad at me._

_Choutarou_

--

It was a warm afternoon, when Ootori left the school. Instinctively, he stopped when he heard the sound of tennis ball against the wall.

Torn between to see or to just leave, Ootori stood there for another five minutes or so, before peeping from behind the wall.

It was Shishido, with his usual long hair tied into a pony tail and hitting ball to the wall.

"What's your name?"

Ootori was shocked.

"Your name?" Shishido caught the ball in his hand and looked at Ootori's direction. The kouhai had wanted to just disappear but he thought it would make him look like a complete fool, so he stepped out.

"Eh… Ootori Choutarou."

"Shishido," he said, "Shishido Ryou."

For a second or so, there was a momentary awkward silence, when finally, Shishido spoke again.

"Why are you still here?" he asked.

"I had just finished my class duty, and I'm going back soon," Ootori said. The question clogged in his throat. He had wanted to ask about the previous incident.

"Shishido-san!"

Shishido looked at him.

"About the other day! About the incident! Why didn't you admit? You did practice after school!" Ootori blurted out.

For a second, Shishido remained quiet, before answering him.

"They don't have to know what I'm doing. They just need to see the result."

"But…"

"That's how Hyoutei works," he looked at Ootori's eyes, hard, "They don't care what you've been through, as long as you win."

--

_Wednesday, May 17__th_

_Hyoutei is tough. Though it has a good tennis club, they ought to be more concerned about the members. They should observe and take note of their progress, and not just the final result. I feel it's a waste to not have Shishido in the regulars. I'm sure he's an excellent player._

_Choutarou_

--

It was nearly the beginning of autumn, when a man named Atobe Keigo, defeated the captain, and took over his pose.

Though Atobe appeared to have large ego and arrogant, it was him who recruited Shishido to be part of the regulars. He must have heard about the incident between Ootori and Oshitari and Mukahi, that he took notice.

And after that, Shishido spent his after-school afternoons, training Ootori. It might be out of gratefulness, but whatever it was, the two became friends ever since.

And because of Shishido's great help, together with the kouhai's patience in learning, Ootori became the youngest Hyoutei regulars.

--

"Play doubles with me."

Ootori stared at his senpai with a startled look. "Do…Doubles?"

Shishido nodded.

"But I've never played doubles before," Ootori said.

"Neither have I. But we could try," Shishido suggested.

Just when Ootori had agreed to try, Shishido immediately proposed the request to Atobe. With a little sarcasm remark, Atobe agreed to his proposal.

Starting out playing doubles wasn't the easiest thing to do. Ootori has to get used to surrendering half the court to Shishido, and there's much more than that.

The first few weeks, they made a bad performance—the co-ordination wasn't right; Shishido was so used to playing single that he returned most of the balls; they kept running into each other's way; and many more.

Despite the difficult start and harsh remarks from other players, they weren't willing to give up.

And that's why; later they could proudly stand up as Hyoutei's Silver Pair.

--

When Ootori snapped out of his dreamland, he realized it was almost 1 a.m. in the morning. He brushed his teeth and then went back to his room.

Ootori looked at the name list on his desk again.

He just got an answer to his problem.

_Know them. Be concerned about what they've gone through._

With that, Ootori smiled to himself and climbed to his bed. He pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.

He made through another day without Shishido Ryou.


End file.
